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The stories that Peter, Paul and Mary told in song for so many years have made a seamless transition to the world of children's book publishing

Peter Yarrow had a publishing hit in 2011 with "Puff the Magic Dragon" and now he's back with the just-published "I'm in Love with a Big Blue Frog" (Charlesbridge Publishing, $17.95) adapted from the song of the same name that was on one of the most popular PP&M albums, the 1967 release "Album 1700" (which also featured two of the trio's biggest pop hits, "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "I Dig Rock & Roll Music").

The charming song's underlying message of racial tolerance is as relevant now as ever, Yarrow said in a recent phone interview.

The tune and the book follow a young woman who is in love with a 6-foot 4-inch frog. The unusual pair causes a lot of talk -- at first, highly disapproving -- but in the end the power of their love and their personal charm wins everyone over.

"This song remains extraordinarily important today if you reflect on it and the reality of the teasing and the bullying that is going on with so many kids ... resulting in exclusion and suicides," Yarrow said.

The song was written and performed in a time when the Selma and Montgomery, Ala., civil rights marches were fresh in record buyers' minds.

"I think the issue is still enormously relevant to our lives and the direction we take as a country. Whether we allow our kids to grow up mean-spirited and greedy rather than nurture their growth in a positive way. Now the song might apply to gays or Muslims ... every generation faces these efforts to be tolerant," he said.

Yarrow credits a lot of the quality of the book version of "Big Blue Frog" to illustrator Joshua S. Brunet. "He did the illustrations for `Puff,' too, and I think he is just extraordinary," Yarrow said.

The writer and musician said he found the process of turning a song into a children's book to be smooth.

The marriage of text and illustrations remind him of song writing. "That's the magic of synergy," he said. "It's very analogous to the combining of music and lyrics in a song -- they amplify and complement each other.

"That's really the art of it. The relationship of the words and the music are where you find the poetry in it," he said.

The world of illustrated books takes Yarrow back to his own youth when he toyed with the idea of being a painter. "But Joshua is so gifted in this area," he said of his collaborator. "He's taught me so much."

Although the first goal of the book and the accompanying CD is to entertain kids and their parents, Yarrow hopes it plants a seed in the minds of readers and listeners.

"We have to start changing the environment in which our kids grow up," he said.

"We must make the school environment caring and accepting just like `Big Blue Frog,' " Yarrow added.

The long-running success that Yarrow achieved in music with his two musical partners might be impossible to replicate today, he believes.

"The music industry has been so downsized by financial cuts that if I was trying to release an album now it might be impossible. The industry is run by bean counters who are just so dedicated to the bottom line and selling to the largest possible audience ... It's a practice that results in music that titillates or shocks. The meaning of being entertained has changed," he said.